The Provincial Government of South Sulawesi recently issued a Governor Regulation No. 127/2018 on the Protection of Domestic Workers. Signed on 24 August 2018, the Governor Regulation highlights the protection of domestic workers, including the monitoring and reporting. The regulation was signed by Dr. Sumarsono, Acting Governor of South Sulawesi Province.

The series of advocacies and consultations for the development of Governor Regulation had started in May 2017. The Child Protection Agency of South Sulawesi, Women’s Forum of Makassar (FPMP) and domestic workers union of Paraikatte, with support from the ILO through its Promoting Decent Work for Domestic Workers (PROMOTE) project, organized a series of consultations and advocacies with the provincial government of Sulawesi Selatan as well as with relevant stakeholders such as the Indonesian Employers of Association (Apindo) of Makassar.

Understanding the vulnerability of domestic workers in South Sulawesi, the Apindo of Makassar supported the initiative to develop a legal framework for the protection of domestic workers. “Considering the vulnerability of domestic workers who work under the closed doors of private homes, we strongly support the regulation on the protection of domestic workers,” said Yusran Herald, Secretary of Apindo Makassar.

Yusran added that it was hoped that the legal protection would minimize, if not eliminate, the abuses of domestic workers’ labour rights. “Some domestic workers in Makassar have to work not only at homes but they are also engaged in business activities of their employers. This practice is against their labour rights as workers,” he said.

Supports given by the ILO-PROMOTE included a series of internal coordination, involving relevant partners since 2017. After a series of consultations, consolidated workshops with the Provincial Manpower Office were conducted in January 2018 to review the draft regulation and develop an action plan for finalization. The workshops were then followed by a public hearing in March 2018.

Attended by more than 70 participants representing government offices, workers’ and employers’ organizations, domestic workers, domestic workers’ employers, local NGOs, woman activists as well as mass media, the public hearing gathered and compiled feedbacks and inputs. After the public hearing, the draft regulations undertook some reviews from the governor office, including legal review, before being enacted in August 2018.

Lusia Palulungan, an employer of domestic worker who is also a woman activist, had been actively involved in the process of consultations and advocacies. “The Governor Regulation does not only protect domestic workers, but also benefits the employers,” she said.

For Jusmiaty, Chair of Domestic Worker Union of Paraikatte Makassar, and her fellow domestic workers, the Governor Regulation would provide them with legal protections that protect their labour rights of decent working hours, days off, wages and so forth. “Through this regulation, we can assure to have the same labour rights just like other workers,” she said.

South Sulawesi was one of the targeted areas of the ILO-PROMOTE Project, in addition to Jakarta, Lampung and Malang. Irfan Afandi, the former Project Coordinator of the ILO-PROMOTE Project, greatly appreciated the issuance of the regulation. “With this regulation, domestic workers in Makassar will be protected. This also shows the sustainability of advocacies and policy consultative initiatives taken by the ILO-PROMOTE Project,” he said.

The ILO-PROMOTE Project was aimed to promote decent work for domestic workers and to eliminate child domestic workers in Indonesia. Funded by the United States Department of Labour (USDOL), the ILO-PROMOTE Project aimed at increasing the knowledge, skills and expertise on reducing child domestic workers and promote decent work for domestic workers. The Project ran for four years since 2013 and ended in March 2018.